Mega rose farm in the making in Lanzhou, China

LANZHOU, China: If you believe that China is just about peonies, lotus flowers, plum blossom, chrysanthemums and lucky bamboos? Then it is time to revisit the issue. Emerging in Lanzhou in west-central China, is a 34 ha rose farm which will strive to grow premium quality roses in an environmentally sound and smart manner.

Providing direct technical assistance to help the grower AiBiDa identify opportunities for energy and labour saving in their state of the art greenhouses is Dutch horticultural engineering company Codema Cultivation Systems which opened its Beijing branch on 17 November 2019.

Codema’s Business Unit Manager, Just Roos says, “At the moment we are working in Lanzhou, China, on integrating cultivation and irrigation systems into what is set to become the most significant, high-tech rose project in the world. The rose farm spans an area of 34ha is entirely conceived, on behalf of a local property developer and in close cooperation with the Chinese grower, AiBiDa. China’s floral powerhouse will be a shining example of vertical integration involved in the production of young rose plants, finished cut flowers all the way to sales to the end consumer. We collaborate with other technology suppliers such as greenhouse builder  BOM and Priva, the company that is leading the way in the development and production of techology to control environmental conditions in greenhouses and buildings.”

The new greenhouse operation is part of a large greenhouse cluster located in the southeastern portion of the province on the upper course of the Huang He (Yellow River), where the river emerges from the mountains.

From a Dutch perspective, it is not easy to understand why the company opted for Lanzhou, in the landlocked province of Gansu with part of its territory located in the Gobi desert. Here it is always hot in summer and freezing cold in winter. What is more, the greenhouse complex is not located in a logistically strategic area, such as near shipping and big cities  (Lanzhou and Xi’an are the only two major cities in the area).